CAPTURING RAINWATER TO REPLACE IRRIGATION WATER FOR

LANDSCAPES: RAIN HARVESTING AND RAIN GARDENS

Rose Mary Seymour
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AUTHOR: Public Service Assistant, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, The University of Georgia – Griffin Campus,
1109 Experiment St, Griffin, GA 30223.
REFERENCE: Proceedings of the 2005 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held April 25-27, 2005, at the University of Georgia. Kathryn
J. Hatcher, editor, Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
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Abstract. Capturing rainwater and using it for potable water supplies. However, landscape irrigation
landscape watering needs is a reasonable and realistic way does not require potable water quality. Areas of Georgia
to reduce the use of potable water for landscape irrigation. get an average of 114-165 cm (45-65 inches) of water per
This option has until recently not been given much annum. Captured rainwater is of suitable quality to be
consideration in humid climates such as Georgia. used for irrigation if the rainwater falls on relatively clean
However, today water conservation is a critical issue for impermeable areas or landscaped areas.
Georgia’s growing population. Water captured on site and used for landscape
For many irrigated landscapes, harvesting of irrigation also reduces the volume of stormwater runoff, a
rainwater is a valuable alternative. An irrigation system valuable water quality benefit. Utilizing captured
coupled with a rain harvest system provides a source of rainwater for irrigation results in infiltration which
irrigation water for all but the longest dry periods, and it provides a couple of benefits. Nutrients and other
reduces the amount of stormwater that moves offsite. pollutants are removed as water moves through the soil,
Capturing stormwater during a storm and holding it on and groundwater is recharged. The water quality and
site to be used later for irrigation has many advantages. In conservation advantages of capturing rainwater for
Georgia, enough stormwater can be captured to landscape irrigation makes it a viable alternative
significantly reduce or eliminate the need for potable technology that needs to be considered in better site
water use in landscapes. design.
Harvesting and storing rainwater for irrigation uses is This paper discusses two methods of utilizing
only one method to make better utilization of rainwater captured rainwater onsite as a substitute for irrigation in
for landscapes. Rain gardens and bioretention areas are urban landscapes. The first method is to capture rainwater
intentional low areas where runoff water from impervious in a cistern, tank or pond applied through watering hoses
surfaces is diverted and contained so that the runoff will or irrigation systems. The second method is the use of
infiltrate into the soil. Rain gardens are most often a rain gardens or bioretention areas to capture rainwater
feature in a residential or small landscape. The purpose of onsite as a part of a landscape design.
a rain garden is to create a more natural flow keeping
stormwater on site to infiltrate and reducing the amount of
stormwater that runs into streets and storm drains. BACKGROUND AND RELATED WORK
Bioretention areas serve a similar function to rain gardens
but tend to be located in larger commercial landscaped Rainwater Harvesting and Storage Systems
settings. They collect rainwater from roofs of commercial An irrigation system coupled with a rain harvest
buildings and/or parking lots. system provides a source of irrigation water for all but the
longest dry periods, and it reduces the amount of
INTRODUCTION stormwater that moves offsite. Capturing stormwater
during a storm and holding it on site to be used later for
In the US, outdoor water use is about 30 % on irrigation has many advantages. In Georgia, enough
average of total residential potable water use (Vickers, stormwater can be captured to significantly reduce or
2001). The greatest demand for outdoor water use occurs eliminate the need for potable water use in landscapes.
during the hottest driest months of summer adding Distributing and applying captured rainwater does not
significantly to municipal peak water use periods. In require the kind of plumbing code restrictions that
Georgia, outdoor water use is a major component of the graywater use does. Capturing the stormwater and
total demand for urban areas. applying it back to the soil is beneficial because it
In Georgia’s efforts to develop a water plan, water for maintains the health of green spaces and the infiltrated
landscape irrigation will most likely be low in priority for irrigation water can provide recharge to groundwater.
 The primary components of a rain harvesting system
are the collection area, the transport system, filtration,
storage, delivery and distribution. The collection area can
be primarily impervious or a mix of green spaces and
impervious surfaces. Areas with bare soil should not be
collection areas because of the sediment that is entrained
in the runoff.
Water is transported from the collection areas to
storage through a combination of pipes and open
channels. Storage can be an open pond or a storage tank
of some kind. Storage tanks can be buried or above
ground and can be made from many different kinds of
materials. The storage tank material is not critical if the
water is being used for landscape irrigation. Before
entering the irrigation system suspended materials must be
removed. Some settling will occur in storage, but further
filtration may be needed. The degree of filtration is
dependent on the amount of debris in the captured water
and the irrigation equipment.
In some locations with enough elevation change,
gravity may be sufficient for delivery of water to
irrigation applicators, but this is typically not the case for
pressurized irrigation systems. Low volume, low pressure
microirrigation systems are best suited for many small
landscape water distribution systems. Microirrigation
systems will require less storage volume for the same area
than sprinkler applicators. Harvested rainwater can also be
siphoned from a tank and hand applied with hoses or
watering cans.
If the surface the rainwater is captured from is fairly
inert and clean, the quality of the stormwater will be
suitable for irrigation without a lot of treatment to the
water. The water does not contain the detergents and
chemicals that graywater has.
A rain harvesting system will add some capital and
operating costs as compared to using municipal water for
irrigation, but if municipal water costs continue to rise and
water utilities set up conservation fee structures, the
payback period for rainwater harvesting could become
minimal. Installing a rain harvest system is less expensive
if it is a part of the initial design and construction of a
building. Usually retrofit rain harvest systems are more
expensive and may not fit in as well with the building
design or overall site design.
Previous Research on Rainwater Harvesting
Research has investigated the reuse of stormwater at
the neighborhood or community scale and results
indicated that this kind of reuse is economically feasible.
Mallory and Boland (1970) used a hydrologic and
economical optimization model to evaluate the cost
effectiveness of reuse of stormwater in communities using
large detention ponds for storage. They evaluated
untreated stormwater and stormwater treated to be potable
for reuse. The untreated stormwater reuse systems
required a dual distribution system which made it more
expensive than non-reuse potable water systems.
However, the untreated stormwater reuse system was
comparable in cost to the treated stormwater reuse system.
The untreated stormwater reuse system was 23 % more
costly on a per dwelling unit basis than a conventional
non-reuse water supply system.
Mitchell, Mein and McMahon (1996) evaluated the
integrated reuse of stormwater and treated wastewater and
found they could half the water supply demand with the
installation of an integrated reuse system. Courtney
(1997) modeled the operating policy of the University of
Colorado’s automatic irrigation systems and used the
simulation model to estimate the amount of stormwater
runoff that could be used for irrigation. The campus is
about 60 % impervious. Results showed that much of the
stormwater could be infiltrated through irrigation already
in use on the campus.
Researchers have looked at less centralized reuse
systems. Hermann et al. (1996) determined that rainwater
harvesting from residential roofs into storage tanks could
provide 30-50 % of the residential water demand while
also reducing heavy metals in the stormwater not
harvested by 5-25 %. Karpiscak, Foster and Schmidt
(1990) give a detailed discussion of graywater reuse and
stormwater reuse for a single residence in Tucson, AZ.
Todd and Vittori (1997) provide several case studies on
successful designs of rainwater harvesting systems.
Heaney, Wright and Sample (2000) developed a
model for an individual residential property utilizing
harvested rainwater for landscape irrigation. They
described a method for evaluating the efficacy of on-site
capture of stormwater for landscape irrigation use. They
used this model for cities around the US including
Atlanta. Using average monthly weather data for Atlanta,
for a typical 140 square meter (1500 square foot) home
with a garage on a 929 square meter (10,000 square foot)
lot, the storage tank size that would use the most
stormwater for irrigation was sized at 26.5 cubic meters
(936 cubic feet). This study did not do an economic cost
benefit analysis of rainwater harvesting versus use of
municipal water for irrigation.
Rain Gardens and Bioretention Areas
Another excellent way to use captured rain water for
landscape water needs is a rain garden or bioretention
area. Rain gardens and bioretention areas are intentional
low areas where runoff water from impervious surfaces is
diverted and contained so that the runoff will infiltrate
into the soil.
Rain gardens are most often a feature in a residential
or small landscape. The purpose of a rain garden is to
create a more natural flow keeping stormwater on site to
infiltrate and reducing the amount of stormwater that runs
into streets and storm drains. A rain garden collects
stormwater runoff and filters it through soils and plant
roots. The plants in the rain garden are designed to be an
attractive landscape feature. Bioretention areas serve a
similar function to rain gardens but tend to be located in
larger commercial landscaped settings. They collect
rainwater from roofs of commercial buildings and/or
parking lots.
The predominate features of rain gardens are that they
are an integral part of the landscape and water infiltrates
into the soil. Water should stand in a rain garden no longer
than 48 hours after the rain stops. Rain gardens should not
increase mosquito populations because mosquitoes cannot
complete their breeding cycle in this length of time.
Several states have included specifications for the
design of rain gardens or bioretention areas in their
stormwater management design manuals (Maryland
Department of the Environment, NC Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Atlanta Regional
Commission). Hunt and White (2001) provide a thorough
discussion of the design process and appropriate uses of
bioretention areas and rain gardens. Bannerman and
Considine (2003) have developed an outstanding guide for
homeowners on do-it-yourself rain gardens. The Clean
Water Campaign (2003) published a guide for
homeowners on creating rain gardens in Georgia with
appropriate plants for Georgia’s climate.
Because this is such a new stormwater management
practice, the ability of various rain garden and bioretention
area designs to remove pollutants has not been verified
completely, but studies are on-going. Bioretention areas
provide treatment by adsorbing metals and phosphorus in
organic matter, biomass and soil, by killing harmful
pathogens and by reducing sediments and nitrogen as
captured stormwater infiltrates. However, too much
sediment load can create a soil crust destroying the
infiltration mechanism.
Bioretention areas often do not sufficiently remove
nitrate-nitrogen. Hunt, Jarrett and Smith (2003) evaluated
a design variation on a typical bioretention area by
creating an anaerobic zone in the soil below the surface of
the bioretention area. The purpose of the anaerobic zone
was to provide conversion of more nitrate-nitrogen to
nitrogen gas. Hunt, Jarrett and Smith (2003) did not find
that the anaerobic zone had a significant effect on nitrate-
nitrogen reduction.
Rain gardens typically do well in natural depression
areas of the landscape. If the area is already a natural
depression, runoff will tend to move towards it. However,
rain gardens are not appropriate where the seasonal high
water table is within 60 cm (24 inches) of the soil surface
because the high water table will inhibit infiltration. Rain
gardens should not be placed over the top of a septic
system. While they should not be next to building
foundations, rain gardens next to impervious features of
the landscape such as driveways, patios and sidewalks are
very helpful when they capture the runoff from these. A
rain garden should be at least 3 meters (10 feet) from a
house or other building foundation. Land that has more
than a 12 % slope will likely need additional soil brought
in and equipment to move the soil for the rain garden.
There are some other situations in which rain gardens
are not suitable. A rain garden capturing runoff with a
high sediment load or runoff that might be contaminated
with hydrocarbons and other chemicals will not last for
very long before toxicity or clogging makes the rain
garden ineffective. For example, if a homeowner does a
lot of car maintenance in a certain location on the
driveway, runoff from the driveway should not be directed
to a rain garden. The chemicals may be toxic to the plants
as well as contaminating the soil in the rain garden.
Conjunctive Rain Harvesting – Rain Garden Systems
Rain harvesting tanks combined with rain gardens or
bioretention areas can be an even better on-site
stormwater reduction system than the use of either system
independently. Both rainwater harvesting and rain
gardens must have some overflow mechanism for larger
volume storms or long-term rainfall patterns. Creating a
rain garden downstream of a rainwater harvesting
overflow can capture much of the overflow and make use
of that additional stormwater for infiltration. Landscape
and building designs can readily accommodate this
combination of stormwater best management practices
(BMPs) and be economical if this is a consideration in the
initial design. Retrofitting a combination of the two
BMPs at an established site may be more difficult and
costly, but can still be workable.
CONCLUSIONS
Both rainwater harvesting and rain gardens lead to at
least a partial restoration of the pre-development
hydrology of an impervious urban area by increasing
infiltration of stormwater. At the same time, both of these
BMPs replace irrigation water needs that may previously
have been met with potable municipal water or well water.
These two alternatives for landscape water supply are
win-win strategies that can be used in both commercial
and residential site design to improve water quality and
reduce the need for potable water use in landscape
irrigation.
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